So, is Windows 7 any good??

[Missybaby]

I had my laptop stolen . It was a Mac. I am now thinking about getting a PC with my insurance pay out because I had issues getting my Blackberry talking to my Mac, and because I found programmes like iPhoto too limiting. I'd prefer to use Adobe Elements. I also found it irritating that you have to pay if you want to do anything that looks like fun, eg. there's an option at the bottom of the iPhoto programme saying print photos but what it means is, go to the Mac site and pay to have photos printed. Or, it prompts you to set up your Mac mail address, guess what? You have to pay...

I have around £800 to spend (which wouldn't get me as a good a Mac as I had but I am hoping will get me a good PC laptop).

My main concern is speed. I would like a very fast computer. I will use an external harddrive for my photos and such as I don't want to lose all my photos again if I'm burgled again... So, I don't need tonnes of storage space.

Is Windows 7 much better than Vista? Or is it Vista cleverly repackaged? Do you still need 1 whole GB just to run it?

If anyone can recommend a laptop that would be good. I had hoped for a Hewlett Packard but imagine I would have to spend more money.

Where are all the geeks? I need your help!

I agree with what you say about the Mac.

Windows 7 is better than Vista, and uses less memory, but with that sort of money you are looking at a 3GB or 4GB laptop anyway so it shouldn't be a problem.

I would also recommend HP/Compaq (same company now) as IME these have the best build quality.

Google for HP DV6-1340sa to see what you can get for £600 - you won't be disappointed with the performance of that. It has a 15.4" screen, I hate 17" laptops but if you do a lot of photo work you need a decent monitor so splash out £120 on a LG W2243S-PF 22" (IMHO LG are the next best to iiyama quality).

That leaves us £80 for external storage which would be enough but if you use your laptop wirelessly I would recommend a Network File Server rather than an external drive: this means you can access your pictures wirelessly from any PC in the house, and even remotely via FTP if you want to enable that option. I can only recommend the Buffalo Linkstation because that is what I use, the 1TB version is £120.

Oh I haven't left any for Photoshop Elements: if you haven't got a copy I see it is being bundled with Premiere Elements for £100 at the moment - if you like photo editing you'll LOVE video editing

from what I have seen Windows 7 looks like they have stolen a lot of ideas from the MacOs 10s anyway

I preferred my HP to Dells I have known (and bust)

Photoshop Elements is certai nly worth the cash but I haven;t played with Premiere yet - find I use Indesign and Illustrator much more (but for work type stuff rather than home things)

Thank you MrAnchovy. I had not really wanted a 17" laptop, as too big, but then I do want a big screen for my photos so I can have 2 windows open at once for comparison. So, that's certainly an idea, buying a separate monitor. So, I just link them with an AV cable?

Thank you MrsBadger, I have toyed with the idea of Dell but my Dad is a confirmed Dell hater and swears by HP (but then he has a larger budget!).

I don't find the HP site particularly helpful though. I don't need all these fancy swirly designed laptops. I'd rather my money went to better performance! Also, I wanted 7-in-1 media slot (to take SDHC cards) and it seems I need to go for some really expensive machine to get that.

on the HP website try clickign the 'small business' option for less overdesigned swirly things

The monitor will come with a cable attached - hang on I just need to check something.

Oh and you don't need a 7in1 for SDHC, any new machine with SD should take SDHC.

Yea, that HP has a 5 in 1 slot, but it also has a separate express card slot so it will do everything a 7 in 1 reader will do, although a Compact Flash card will need an adapter to fit the express card slot.

Only thing it doesn't have is DVI out, which means it will only connect to an ordinary VGA lead, but that's OK because the monitor I quoted doesn't have a DVI plug (that's why it is so cheap!). Good grief, according to Tesco it is 1920x1080 - that really is a bargain at £120. Yep, the LG site confirms that.

Ah, you are both so helpful! Thanks. I am currently blowing my brain looking at tonnes of different HP laptops as I definitely think that is the way to go. I have tried the small business section but they don't seem to have windows 7 loaded. Obviously, I should ring them and I'm sure they would offer Windows 7 but I prefer to look online tonight while kids in bed.